Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Shares Up 0.3% – Should You Buy?

Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX)’s share price traded up 0.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $21.26 and last traded at $20.99. 3,890,050 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 20,988,225 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on GOLD shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Argus upgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $26.50 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Barrick Gold has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.60.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $36.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 3.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 5.53% and a net margin of 12.78%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Barrick Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.78%.

Institutional Trading of Barrick Gold

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GOLD. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 198.1% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 628.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Barrick Gold in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Barrick Gold during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

About Barrick Gold

Barrick Gold Corporation is a sector-leading gold and copper producer.  Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GOLD and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ABX.
 
In January 2019 Barrick merged with Randgold Resources and in July that year it combined its gold mines in Nevada, USA, with those of Newmont Corporation in a joint venture, Nevada Gold Mines, which is majority-owned and operated by Barrick.